Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1887-08-25
The Lights Of MOSCOW. R...,.

Aishts OF MOSCOW, Russia.
by D. n. Richardson. Editor Davenuort
Ia, Democrat.
what are the sights of Moscow? A
great bronze cannon that cannot be
nred; a monster bell that cannot be
rune. The former, weighingforty tons,
mere Tor you to crawl into; was here
before the pilgrims sailed-its deem.
"iue-open mouth forever dumb. Do
you remember Webster's spelling book
that used to bother much our snarlv
pates, and keep us all too rear the
.oot OF that hated daily spelling class?
Well anyhow. among the one.Iine
statements that it made you NAV
nave chung to this: "Thegreat bell OF
MOSCOW weighs two hundred ard
twenty thousand pounds" That
beat the boysi We knew what
a church bell was-some OF us
did-ior there was one in the
West Topsham meeting house in the
next village, and it was a whopper.
You could near hear it ring a mile!
but 1t didn't weigh a ton, even, nor a
qeater OF 1t, and when the school-ma.-
am said that Moscow bell weighed
more than our great big on~e-story,
painless school house we simniy
scratched u heads and grinned. But
here is the bell. The school hook
story undertook theiact-books some.
Times dot weighs four hundred and
iorty-ion; thousand pounds, or two
hundred and twenty-five tons. 1t
rests upon a stout stone base, through
which you enter by a door. The
dome above your head is twenty feet.
The bell was hang, they say, but fell
Q broke a fragment from it's rim.
u fragment weighs eleven
tons, and shows n thickness
OF two feet. The greatest circumfer.
enee Is sixty-eight feet; it's height TWEEN
ty.six feet and four inches.
The other sights consists OF churches,
palaces, and treasured things within
the Kremlin. This is the old-time
iort-walled stoutly about. This was
N early days the entire city. Here
lived the the cars, the priests, the
generals-the soldiers. Here within
the church was all the treasures kept
an old time oriental custom of the
pagan age; here to were people Judged
n execution held-here the heart and
central strength of Russia. AZ the
city grew more walls we're added, but
the old Kremlin walls were kept intact;
and now. as you enter there through
the holy gate, beneath the emb,ems
oil the church, you must remove your
hat-so does the emperor-so all his
subjects-all who visit here.
The palace here is very grand-has
many looms and lofty halls aelow
with polish, glass and gold. To take
you through these halls and rooms
and corridors would be to travel miles
and miles and write for months and
months. They cover many acres-
filled with furniture and many curious
things; with beds and bedding-costly.
inlaid floors, arabuesques and gilded
work-with carvings, tiles, armorial
shields, great stables, carriages and
luxurious outfits of all sorts; a winter
garden far above the street luxnriant
in palm and vine and exuberant trop-
&c plants-aglow with tropic heat here
in this frozen realm-a play-room for
the queen who comes not often here
all this for the imperial home, but
very rarely occupied. The treasury
is very spaclous-yery rich in richest
gems, in crowns and sceptres, hits
and leweled clothesthat here are gath
cred up to make q museum for folks
to come and see. A czar is crowned
his crown and ~scepter-all his cost
hest things and gems find Judgment
here. Even the coronation clothes OF
Mr.. and Mrs. Car are worn no more,
but hung up here to look at all the
ages. Here in this regal show, are
many a costly coach and sledge, built
for the coronation pageant-to be
used no moreno end of costliest
luxury OF which you tire very soon
and wish for something good and
plain.
Here in the Kremlin churches lie the
royal bones OF all the cars and wives
down TO Great Peters day-here
stored away in great stone collins
numbering the floor-o'er cast with
purple velvets trimmed with golden
cuffs-fenced in with gilded posts and
rails-waiting in royal state amidst
the masses of the church, among the
relics of the shrines. among tie pic
tures of the saints-the daily ceremo
nials-waiting in state the Judgment
day.
The whole church is a cleaning
glory of polished granite, marbles,
costly malachite, and lapis lazali;
masses of finest porphyry, such rs is
used in Roman churches only sparing-
~; masses of Finnish granite; columns
Of Siberian verde antique, blsc * mar
bles of the finest grain, light violet
and goldlined grays, with alter work
of pure Carrara white. These regal
stones monnt arch on arch, the col
umns, walls, the arches, piers and
floors afash with polishing. The pi-
Gus pictures of the Almighty, Savior,
saints and sacred scenees OF heaven
and earth are work of hands most
skilled-you move about mid golden
bronze and silver things, midst gems
and all in earth most choice and rare
all stone and metal, not q piece of
wood in all the work-not large like
great Saint Peters church at Rome
only a pendant. you may say, yet
costing twenty ~millions-the finest
gem in all this land of costly shrines,
the finest in the world, they say.